Built from experience across innovation ecosystems.
EntryPoint helps economic development organizations and innovation leaders build stronger startup, emerging-technology, and entrepreneurship initiatives.
Our approach is shaped by nearly two decades of experience across venture capital, entrepreneurship, economic development, technology companies, public-private partnerships, and innovation ecosystems — as a researcher, consultant, leader, and operator.
We understand how to identify an opportunity and develop a strategy. We also understand what happens next: finding the right companies, building partnerships, designing programs and processes, navigating stakeholders, and making an initiative work in practice.
The EntryPoint Story
Emily Heintz founded EntryPoint in 2018 to help communities better understand and support entrepreneurs.
EntryPoint initially focused on entrepreneurial ecosystem research, venture capital analysis, and community engagement, producing more than 25 reports examining startup communities, investment activity, access to capital, and the resources companies need to grow.
Since then, Emily’s work has expanded from studying innovation ecosystems to building and operating within them. Her experience has included startup and emerging-technology programs, company sourcing and evaluation, venture-backed technology, public-private partnerships, commercialization, economic development, and real-world technology deployment.
Today’s EntryPoint brings those experiences together — combining research and market insight with hands-on operating experience to help organizations decide what to build and put it into practice.
About Emily Heintz
Emily Heintz is the founder of EntryPoint and an innovation ecosystem leader whose career has spanned venture capital, entrepreneurship, economic development, emerging technology, and startup program development.
She has worked with and within organizations including Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Venture Capital Association, Invest Detroit, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, JumpStart Ohio, SkySpecs, Curiosity Lab, and a broad network of startups, investors, corporations, universities, and economic development organizations.
That experience crosses the public, private, nonprofit, investment, and startup sectors — and informs EntryPoint’s practical, operator-led approach to innovation strategy and program development.
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